


Glancing Misunderstanding

by PantyPoison



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 18:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13664307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PantyPoison/pseuds/PantyPoison
Summary: Poor Marisa can't catch a break from her insecurities.





	Glancing Misunderstanding

As much as she loathed to admit it, Marisa was bothered by the cold.

Despite all her endurance training and her taut muscles, the winter chill always managed to seep through her bones and put her in a dismal mood. But being in the cold was also a welcome distraction from her anxious thoughts, which was why she had volunteered to collect firewood for the troupe. They had stopped along a mountain pass after getting wind that a large snowfall was imminent; the craggy outlooks of rock would provide them with suitable shelter until they could pass to the next town. “Perhaps we could even put on a show for some other forlorn travelers,” Tethys has remarked.

Marisa scoffed. Dancing seemed to always come first in Tethys's life... even above her own relationship, it seemed.

Of course Marisa knew it was her wife's greatest skill, as well as her career; Tethys managed a whole dance troop, and brought home the most gold out of any of them. Of course she would be dedicated. But lately Marisa had hardly seen Tethys outside of the stage. She had been performing more venues, more unexpected encores, going out to dinner afterwards if the show had a royal figurehead in attendance. Which, given Tethys's reputation, happened more often than not.

All this performing left very little alone time for the two of them, with hardly an intimate moment shared besides the customary kiss when they parted for a while. At night Tethys was so exhausted that she often went straight to sleep, leaving Marisa to lie awake and ponder. Surely this wasn't normal in a relationship, right? Why did her lover want to avoid her?

Once she had a decent pile of wood collected, Marisa began the arduous task of chopping it up. She had hoped the work would tire her mind, but with every swing of the axe more unspoken questions bubbled up in her throat. Terrible, burning questions. What had she done to make Tethys so tired of her? Why couldn't she just be more useful so that this sort of thing would stop repeating itself? It had happened with her father, who she could never surpass. With various jobs when a more skilled mercenary took her place. It just kept happening. And seemingly, the only to blame, the common denominator in every situation.... was herself.

 _Gods damn me._  

Marisa heard a twig snap behind her and whipped around, bracing for some sort of forest predator. She relaxed when she noticed it was only Tethys, her slight framed wrapped in a large fur coat (imitation, she had insisted, despite Marisa's protests that it wouldn't last as long as the real thing; if Marisa had been right, Tethys certainly had not complained, her morals never swayed). In her hands she had another jacket, far more plain and practical. “Did you forget something?” She asked knowingly, offering the other coat to Marisa.

The swordswoman was surprised Tethys had even noticed she had slipped away from camp. “I'm fine,” she said dismissively, turning back to her work.

“You have goosebumps, darling.”

Marisa's resolve altered at the term of endearment, but she shook her head. “I'm fine,” she repeated, bringing her axe down more forcefully on a log.

Tethys raised an eyebrow, but shrugged her shoulders and hung Marisa's coat neatly over a low tree branch. “Suit yourself,” she said, knowing from experience there was no use arguing. “I appreciate you gathering wood, by the way. It's going to be another chilly night.”

“Somebody has to,” Marisa grumbled.

“Yes, but it's not your task. It's Ewan's turn and he knows it, but...I suppose he just got caught up in his lessons with Saleh.”

“I don't mind.”

“I do,” Tethys said, crossing her arms. “It's not fair for him to leave his work to others, especially you. This part of the country has more thieves out and about...we need you guarding the camp.”

Marisa huffed. “That's all you need me for, huh?”

Tethys blinked, and after a long pause, narrowed her eyes. “Ex...cuse me?”

Marisa let her axe drop to the ground, sighing and stretching her arms above her head. There it was, out in the open. Now she could relax, maybe get a good night's rest. “Nothing. See you at camp.”

As she turned to leave, Tethys stood in her path. “Oh, no you don't. Just what did you mean by that comment?”

“Just what I said, nothing.”

“You expect me to believe that? I'm no fool.” Tethys was only a few inches taller than Marisa, and yet when she wanted to be intimidating, their height difference felt immense. Still, Marisa stood her ground.

“Why would you care?”

The dancer huffed indignantly. “I'm your wife, remember?”

Marisa was so confused. Why was Tethys bringing that up, as if everything was fine between them? As if she actually still cared? She had been bracing for this moment for days, for their bond to be broken, and yet Tethys was dragging it out. Out of spite, or perhaps pity?

“Marisa. Tell me what's going on, please.” Tethys's tone had turned gentle, making it even harder for Marisa to voice her unhappiness. But it had to be done.

After a long exhale, the swordswoman said “I thought...no, I know you've grown tired of me.”

Tethys seemed genuinely taken aback, speechless for a moment. “Oh, love, that is preposterous. Whatever made you think-”

“You...gods, how can you _say_ that?!” Marisa snapped, raising her voice, something she only did in the thick of battle. It made Tethys instantly silent.

“All you do is perform, scheduling extra shows, then barely speaking to me when we go to sleep. And when you're not performing, you're gods know where else,” she was beginning to pace now, like a caged animal.

“I've been with Ewan, actually. We-”

“That's another thing, I barely see him either. Just when I was starting to warm up to him. Did I scare him away, too?"

Tethys looked like she wanted to say something, but held herself back, waiting for Marisa to finish. The swordswoman stopped pacing, standing in front of Tethys and lowering her voice back to its usual timbre.

“Everyone tires of me, I understand. I'm not exactly a joy to be around. But... can you just tell me what I've done this time?” Her voice cracked ever so slightly. Tethys instinctively reached out, but Marisa stepped away, growling and rubbing her eyes. She hated anyone seeing her cry, even Tethys. “Damn it all....” she grumbled.

Silence ensued. And then...

Tethys began to laugh. **_Laugh._**

Not many things could sway Marisa to break her strong, silent character, but this....was certainly testing it. She boiled in her own confusion until the dancers soft giggling ceased. She cleared her throat and reached into her coat pocket. “I had meant for it to be a surprise, but... I suppose I may as well just tell you now.”

She produced a small bundle of papers, holding them out for Marisa's inspection. The confused swordswoman took them and leafed through them apprehensively. “These are...”

“Travel documents. Clearance for travel out of Magvel.” They certainly were very official, embossed with Eirika's signature ruby red seal at the bottom of each of them. They answered none of Marisa's questions, however.

“Why would you...”

Tethys touched Marisa's arm gently, who didn't shrug away. “We are going to take a proper vacation, just the two of us. I'm taking you to Ylisse. It's a beautiful land; there's hot springs, glittering waterfalls, beautiful cities to explore... I know you'll just adore it. There's a map in those papers there, if you care to look.”

Marisa looked slowly back and forth from Tethys and the papers in her hand, dumbfounded. This was definitely not the direction she had envisioned this conversation to lead. Tethys looked quite pleased with herself, nimbly getting behind Marisa and hugging her shoulders fondly. “And it's their warm season right now,” she whispered excitedly as she leaned against Marisa's back. “I've just been dying to get away from this cold... haven't you?”

“By the gods, _yes_ ,” Marisa blurted, causing her lover to giggle. “But Tethys, can we really-”

“I've already arranged it. Our private boat, compliments of our beloved Queen Eirika and Consort L'Arachel, leaves in exactly one week.” She hopped in front of Marisa again, taking her hands and squeezing them lightly. The dancer looked like she was about to burst with pride, no doubt delighted by Marisa's reaction.

“You see, that's why I've been pulling late nights and doing extra performances. To make little extra gold in case I want to pick up some nice trinkets. Not because I've wanted to avoid you, darling,” she added delicately, brushing one her wife's long magenta tresses behind her ear.

Marisa processed this for a moment before nodding slowly. “And Ewan...?”

Tethys sighed. “I've been teaching him a little self defense on the side. I know his magic is getting better but...I'll always worry about him, you know. He's my baby brother. I've been taking up a lot of his free time, much to his disdain.”

Marisa was quiet.

“So... what do you think, darling? Still with me?”

Marisa snapped out of her daze. “Right, sorry. It's... it's wonderful, Tethys. Really, I... it's great.”

Tethys leaned in and gave Marisa a dizzying kiss. “Eloquent as always, you are. But if it pleases you, then I am also pleased.”

“But... why?”

For a brief moment Marisa wondered if it was wise to ask that, ruining this wonderful conversation, but it was a fleeting worry. A feeling of safety was slowly, finally dawning on her.

“Well, for the record, I don't need a reason to do something special for you, Marisa,” Tethys said with a wink.

“But you have a reason.”

“Mmmhmm,” Tethys relented, her eyes wandering towards the snow covered ground. Perhaps Marisa wasn't the only one with a pressing matter on her mind. When the dancer raised her head again, Marisa realized with alarm that she was close to tears.

“It was because of me that we never had a ceremonial wedding, being busy with my performances. So I thought... well, it's the least I could do, for being so selfish.”

Their union had been a very private affair, a small blessing by a priest attended by only the members of Eirika's legendary party that had defeated the terrifying Fomortiis. It was a spur of the moment, really; Tethys's troupe was leaving for a tour in the morning, and with such a tight schedule the two didn't know when they would have a chance to be wed next.

“We couldn't even find traditional attire in time,” Tethys remarked, despondent, and Marisa immediately enveloped her in her strong arms.

“I didn't mind,” Marisa responded without hesitation. “I hate dresses.”

This made Tethys laugh through her tears. “I know. But it's the principle of the thing.”

Marisa leaned upwards slightly and gently kissed her wife's forehead, her lips lingering for a moment, comforting Tethys.

“In any case, I should be the one apologizing. I've ruined your wonderful surprise. I'm so bloody boorheaded.”

Tethys shook her head fondly. “This, I know. Did you really think I would ever grow tired of you? For shame.”

A twinge of guilt made Marisa visibly wince. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't give it another thought. I know I've been stretching myself a little thin and that's not very fair to you at all.”

“Still, I was stupid! Let me make it up to you, anything you want, I'll-”

Tethys pressed a finger against Marisa's lips, silencing her. She couldn't help but note how adorable her determination was. “Plenty of time for that next week, hmm? You'll have me all to yourself.”

Tethys's doting tone overwhelmed Marisa. “Lovely,” she breathed huskily, stroking her wife's cheek.

Tethys put her hand on top of Marisa's. “And I'm not letting you out of my sight for a moment.”

Marisa snorted. “Not for a moment, huh? You really will get tired of me, then.”

Tethys giggled as she nuzzled into Marisa's warm, calloused palm. “Never in a thousand lifetimes.”


End file.
